ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- Robins workers will soon be loose and ready for whatever may come along thanks to a new stretch and flex program. The program provides a five- to six-minute series of stretching exercises before beginning work shifts and throughout the day as needed.
The program's activities focus on musculoskeletal areas and are designed to limber up workers so, in the event of a mishap, they are not injured as severely. When they are injured, they will recover more quickly, said Lt. Col. Dan Mokris, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center safety director.
The center vice commander's executive council approved the program in an effort to drive down the number of lost days -- when a worker on the job experiences a mishap and has to miss work -- and compensation costs to the absolute minimum, Colonel Mokris said. The council is made up of employees from the center's safety office, civilian personnel, 78th Medical Group and the maintenance directorate.
First Lt. Kristen Spencer, base physical therapist, has trained supervisors on how to properly perform the exercises. The supervisors will, in turn, lead their workers in the stretching exercises.
The maintenance directorate, where a lot of the heavy work is done, is the first area officials here are focusing on, Colonel Mokris said.
"Eventually it will be offered to folks around the center," he said. "It will be offered on the hangar floors, back shops and administrative areas. We incur injuries in all of those areas, and we felt it is needed everywhere."
The eight-to-10-exercise stretch session, which officials said targets all of the major muscle groups, will be offered at the beginning of each shift and encouraged throughout the day. Though benefits will be seen, the safety director said this is not a physical fitness routine.
"This is about flexibility," he said. "The goal is not to become physically fit, but to become more supple and flexible so you won't sustain injuries."
Jim Culpepper, maintenance directorate director, is a staunch advocate of the new program, and said he is excited about the opportunities it will provide to help all employees be better prepared to do their job each day and avoid injuries to themselves.
"The focus is the employee avoiding injuries," he said. "The results will be a healthier work force providing improved support to the warfighter." (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)